The adoption of photovoltaics for generating electricity from sunlight is largely driven by cost considerations. At present, photovoltaic systems are not competitive with fossil fuel generated electricity. Thus, there is a need to reduce the overall photovoltaic system cost. This entails reducing the cost of photovoltaic modules as well as module assembly costs.
The present invention addresses this need with a photovoltaic solar concentrator which utilizes thin, small-area photovoltaic solar cells which can be batch fabricated and assembled onto a low-cost stainless steel or polymer substrate using fluidic self-assembly technology. Sunlight can be concentrated onto the photovoltaic solar concentrator to generate electricity using a moveable lens assembly which utilizes relatively small displacements on the order of millimeters or less to track the sun and thereby increase the efficiency of electrical generation.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become evident to those skilled in the art.